Genova Burns attorney Eugene T. Paolino, representing developer Kushner Companies and the KABR Group, has hailed the Jersey City Planning Board for approving two major mixed-use development projects, named One Journal Square and 30 Journal Square.

“This continues the inevitable movement of Jersey City redevelopment from the waterfront to the city’s interior,” said Paolino, “particularly toward the Journal Square transportation hub – a major draw for millennials seeking housing, as well as the retail businesses and offices that provide them with goods and services.”

Paolino said these unprecedented projects, with three mixed-use towers (56-, 79-, and 72- stories each) are “absolutely unique. A one-acre plaza as large as that of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art with a graceful memorial fountain is planned at the foot of One Journal Square, which will bring green space to the heart of the city.” He adds: “Further, the former Jersey Journal building will enable developer Kushner KABR to create a striking vertical landscape that opens into another magnificent public plaza with a promenade bracketed by two retail buildings off of Sip Avenue.” Both projects offer a pathway to the Journal Square Transportation Center.

Approval of the projects by the Planning Board on Aug. 16 came a week after Mayor Steven Fulop proposed a municipal open space tax to raise $1.2 million annually for open space and parks in the state’s second largest city.

JCEA endorses Thomas, Valentin, and Verdibello in school board elections

Ron Greco, president of the Jersey City Education Association (JCEA) – the teachers’ union – announced the association has endorsed candidates Sudhan Thomas, Angel Valentin, and Gina Verdibello for the 2016 Jersey City Board of Education election.

“On behalf of the over 4,000 Jersey City public school educators and school support staff, I am excited to announce our unwavering support of Thomas, Valentin, and Verdibello” said Greco. “These three candidates exemplify the qualities we feel are integral for a productive and successful school board. Sudhan, Angel, and Gina are unparalleled in their levels of experience and expertise when it comes to advocating for the students, parents and staff while being ever-mindful of their responsibility to Jersey City taxpayers.”

“In vision, in experience and in leadership,” he said, “Sudhan Thomas is the champion that our students need and believes in the promise of public education. He clearly sees how the public schools are the best tool for opportunity in our children’s lives and to sustain American exceptionalism. Thomas is ready to work with us to confront the multi-faceted issues facing children and families in Jersey City. Sudhan Thomas understands that a child is more than a test score, that our schools need adequate resources and that creating great schools for every child is a shared responsibility. As a product of the Jersey City public schools himself, Angel Valentin knows firsthand the importance of forging relationships between students, parents, teachers and the greater community. He has proven he can provide the leadership needed for every aspect of our public schools. Gina Verdibello has been a mainstay in the battle for equitable funding, safe and suitable facilities and demanding transparency in the Jersey City public schools. She has demonstrated her commitment to the students of Jersey City time and again on both the local and state level through her continued advocacy and involvement on numerous committees. Gina believes in the importance of educating the whole child by nurturing academic, physical, psychological and creative development. “

“Sudhan, Angel, and Gina will come to the board as community-minded individuals with both short and long term goals of making the Jersey City Public Schools a model district for the nation. In an increasing atmosphere of educational profiteering and corporate reform,” he said.

PATH offers vouchers for those affected by weekend service outages

Starting this weekend, PATH riders affected by weekend service outages on the 33rd Street line will be able to use their SmartLink or Metro cards to board the PATH shuttle bus at the Seventh Avenue pick-up stops for travel downtown to PATH’s World Trade Center station.

Previously, PATH customers could board the shuttle bus only using vouchers that needed to be picked up at the World Trade Center PATH Station. Vouchers will still be required for boarding the bus at the WTC pick-up stop (located at Church and Warren streets) to travel to 29th Street along Sixth Avenue.

However, customers who are originating closer to PATH’s closed 33rd Street line stations can now use either returning round-trip bus vouchers, SmartLink cards or Metro Cards for access to a shuttle bus.

After closely monitoring the shuttle bus operation over the past two weekends, the change was made to accommodate requests from customers asking for this modification in the bus shuttle voucher system. The closures on the 33rd Street line were instituted for the installation of new communications signals and other equipment to meet federally mandated safety and security upgrades. Weekend service suspension went into effect Aug. 6 and is scheduled to run through Dec. 19.

For additional traffic alerts and advisories, travelers are encouraged to sign up for Port Authority alerts at http://www.paalerts.com/ or follow the agency on Twitter @PANYNJ.

Freeholders pay tribute to retiring Laurie Cotter

The Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders has honored and commended Deputy County Administrator Laurie Cotter upon her retirement from the County of Hudson.

Cotter initially began her employment working for the Jersey City Economic Development Corp. Over the past 31 years she has worked for the state of New Jersey, Jersey City, Hoboken, and the County of Hudson.

She was first and only female serving as the business administrator in the City of Jersey City. She later replicated that role in the City of Hoboken and finally capping her long and distinguished career by being the first and only female deputy county administrator in Hudson County.

Kennedy Dancers win Citation of Excellence

Elizabeth Mattson, chair of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA), and Nicholas Paleologos, NJSCA executive director, presented the Kennedy Dancers, Inc. a Citation of Excellence for achieving the highest standard of excellence as recognized by their peers in DANCE for fiscal year 2017.

The Kennedy Dancers will celebrate their 40th year as one of a handful of dance companies in New Jersey. They offer a variety of programs that include the Inner City Youth Pre-Professional Dance Program (ICY), the Senior Dance and Fitness Program, the Dance for All-Abilities Program and many more.

Michael Prilutsky has been named chief operating officer at Jersey City Medical Center, a RWJBarnabas Health facility. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the medical center and will report directly to Joseph Scott, who will continue to serve as the hospital’s president and chief executive officer.

This new position was created as the Jersey City Medical Center has experienced several years of growth in patient volume and has attracted many new physicians. It has also added new service lines, including outpatient and wellness services. The hospital is also about to kick off a capital campaign to meet the medical needs of the growing Hudson County community.

Prilutsky most recently served as vice president and executive project director at Montefiore Health System in the Bronx. Previously, he held leadership positions at Northwell Health, and at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. At Columbia University, he completed the High Impact Executive Leadership Program and holds a Masters Degree in Health Services Administration. He also completed an Administrative Fellowship Program through ACH.

New video pushes for expedited Gateway Tunnel project

Common Good has released a three-minute animated video highlighting the need to expedite approval of the proposed Gateway Rail Tunnel Project under the Hudson River. The video – “Transportation Armageddon” – was created for Common Good by Alex Marino, a former writer for “The Daily Show.” It incorporates his humor and perspective in discussing a crucial issue: the need to prevent unnecessary financial and environmental costs from delay of the Project.

The Gateway Rail Tunnel Project is a $24 billion infrastructure plan to alleviate a critical bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor rail line from Washington, D.C. to Boston. It will create two new tunnels between New Jersey and Penn Station in New York City, rebuild capacity on the New Jersey approaches to the Hudson, and add platform and station capacity within Penn Station.

The existing rail connection between New Jersey and Penn Station consists of a pair of 105-year-old tunnels just south of the Lincoln Tunnel. These rail tunnels, which serve both Amtrak and NJ Transit trains, were already in need of repair when they were badly damaged in 2012 by millions of gallons of seawater from Superstorm Sandy.

As set forth in the report, when compared to an 18-month process to finish review and permitting, a three-year permitting timetable would increase taxpayer cost of the project by over $3 billion, and a further two-year delay would increase costs by almost $10 billion. Another two years would raise costs by more than $13 billion. The environmental consequences would also be enormous if the existing tunnels have to be closed for safety reasons before the new tunnels are completed.